


Thank You

by zephsomething



Series: Surviving the War [51]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephsomething/pseuds/zephsomething
Summary: A boy comes into George's joke shop on September first.
Series: Surviving the War [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/813804
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Thank You

**Author's Note:**

> As always I strongly encourage reading from the beginning of the series! It helps with certain characterizations.

Yesterday had been the big rush, last day before the train left for hogwarts and all that, last day to get everything ready. With so many kids and never enough money to buy everything new his mother had always avoided shopping on that day. Now that George had been running his shop for years on diagon alley he knew exactly why. His shop looked like it had been the sight of a duel.

Ron and Angelina had come to help him open the shop, though mostly they came to help him clean it. George was just finished feeding all the little Pygmy Puffs, now in every colour of the rainbow, some were even multi-coloured these days, when the bell chimed. It was still early for customers at all so George only looked up when Angelina called out a general greeting.He waved in Angelina’s direction but it wasn’t the boisterous wave that so many kids his size had done over the last few weeks. It was a quick and cautious sort of thing. 

The boy who came in was dressed in patched robes and walked with nearly silent steps. He moved to the back of the shop with the same sort of movements, quick and cautious, but with the sort of self assuredness most children on their own didn’t have.

He stopped in front of the shelf that had the least chaos surrounding it. It held the line of products George had started a few years back, with Angelina’s encouragement. So far there was sets of robes that had extra weight to them when worn, hats that held a bubble of silence around you, little coins that told you the day, and a parchment that would list everything good you’d written on it if you told it you couldn’t remember. The spell work on each would wear off eventually but they lasted for as long as George could make them. The boy picked one of each and brought them to the counter. By the time he made it there George and Ron were standing behind Angelina. Ron was pretending to be cleaning but George was too tired to pretend he wasn’t curious.

Angelina rang the items through with a smile and as the boy counted out his coins he looked each of them over carefully. He seemed to come to a decision.

“My brother couldn’t get out of bed to come with me and mama is at work.” His small shoulders lifted in a small shrug and a wry grin appeared on his face. “I’ve never liked crowds but it’s the first so nearly everyone’s at the station today.”

“Shouldn’t you and your brother be at the station?” Ron, always the bluntest of them really, asked with a small frown.

“I’m only ten but my brother got his NEWTs four years ago.” His smile didn’t slip as he gave them time to do the math. There was a clink of coins as Angelina put the ones he handed her into the till. “Everything’s too big and loud for him outside of the house most days.”

“So your brother was there during it all.” Angelina looked the boy over again, a knowing look in her eyes that reminded George that she’d had some of the best grades in their year. “You would have been so young though and it all happened in little more than a year.”

“An awfully long year for the magical children of muggleborns though.” He shrugged and waved a hand like it wasn’t anything important and George felt his breath catch in his throat. The realty they’d all lived with for that year, all the people who hadn’t known it was coming, it all hit him again through the eyes of the boy in front of them. “And battle won or not the war didn’t stop at Hogwarts.”

“No, there were Death Eaters at large for months.” George nodded. He remembered it all too well. Some of the biggest and most gruesome killings had happened after that. Voldemort’s body had fallen like anyone else’s once the life was gone from it but his followers hadn’t stopped to mourn this time around. Instead they’d killed, maimed, and tortured in his name until they were caught, or in some cases killed. 

“Exactly.” The boy turned to go but George grabbed a small brown package from under the counter and held it out. “What’s this?”

“Prototype, candy that makes you warmer or colder or puts you to sleep. They’re all labeled.” He shrugged and held it out. “Free of charge, just let me know how they work.”

“I will.” The boy clutched the package to his chest with a secretive sort of smile directed at George. Then he turned and left, just a careful and quiet as he’d come in. George could see it now in the way he moved, he doubted the boy would ever outgrow walking so quietly no one could hear him.

“He’ll be okay.” Angelina’s hand was on his elbow and Ron had wandered off to busy himself putting shelves back in order.

“Yeah, yeah I think he will.” George put his hand over hers and looked out the window to where he could see the boy walking down the street. There were worse things to be than careful.

**Author's Note:**

> As always thanks to everyone who reads! And Double thanks to anyone who kudos or comments!! Y'all are the bright spots in my weeks lately!


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